The Weekend That Was, exploring Lingayen, Pangasinan

The province of Pangasinan is not new to me. Every time I go there, it is always just to hear mass in Manaoag. I never really had a chance to explore the province. Good thing, me and my friends had an opportunity to go Lingayen, the capital town of Pangasinan. And we just couldn’t say no🙂

Hailed as a second-class municipality, it is situated along the famous Lingayen Gulf, the Agno River and Limahong Channel. And because of its location, fishponds and nipa palms abound throughout the town. Its climate is cool and chilly during December to February, warm in March and April and wet from May to October. Accessible by land, water, and air transportation, the town is now thickly populated and progressive. It is also becoming an educational center in Western Pangasinan. (Courtesy of the Historical Background of Lingayen, Pangasinan)

Right after the wedding of our very good friend Gelai, we decided to roam around town. And this was how our adventure went;

Aguedo Agbayani Park

A well lighted and maintained park right in front of the capitol building.

The following day, our first stop was at the replica of the Ramos House. Which by the way a block away (Primicias St.) from our home in Lingayen, The President Hotel (soon to blog)

Ramos House

Being in Ramos house, I somewhat get to know more about our former President. Like did you know he’s into scuba diving?! Cool isn’t it? Also, I kinda miss my dad because of all the golf clubs I saw in the house.

If you want to visit the Ramos House, just coordinate with the tourism office of Lingayen to have an appointment with the care taker for free😉

Bagoong Factory

If only I can hold my breath for the time we’ve been to the factory, I would. Hahaha! But given the fact that Pangasinan is the major source of salt of our country, me and my friends decided to visit one factory and ended up buying a lot of eeerrr salt from them.

Calasiao Side Trip

In the heat of 1:00 PM summer sun, we braved the nearby town of Calasiao to visit a church and buy some puto (rice cakes). Calasiao is a 45 minutes jeep and 30 minutes bus ride from Lingayen to Dagupan, then another 15 minutes jeep ride from Dagupan to Calasiao.

Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul

Puto Calasiao

Every province has their own version of puto or rice cakes. In Calasiao, their specialty is the bite-sized, ceramic oven baked puto (Putong Calasiao). You can buy these goodies for P 100/kilo across Parish of Saints Peter and Paul.

After buying a lot of putong calasiao for pasalubong and almost making a music video for Calasiao, we headed back to Lingayen to visit one last must see place in town.

Urduja House

Our last stop was at Governor’s house or commonly known as Urduja’s House. Again, it’s open to the public and they do not collect any fees.

This is also the venue where they hold important meeting.

How to get to Lingayen, Pangasinan

Victory Liner offers a fast but safe and comfortable journey to Lingayen. On our way back to Manila, were lucky to board a new bus. It was a stress free 5-hour journey back home. The reclining seats were working and oh I like the movies they’ve shown that time :)